org.apache.cocoon.environment
Interface Cookie

All Known Implementing Classes:

HttpCookie, PortletCookie

public interface Cookie

Creates a cookie, a small amount of information sent by a servlet to a Web browser, saved by the browser, and later sent back to the server. A cookie's value can uniquely identify a client, so cookies are commonly used for session management.

A cookie has a name, a single value, and optional attributes such as a comment, path and domain qualifiers, a maximum age, and a version number. Some Web browsers have bugs in how they handle the optional attributes, so use them sparingly to improve the interoperability of your servlets.

The servlet sends cookies to the browser by using the Response.addCookie(Cookie) method, which adds fields to HTTP response headers to send cookies to the browser, one at a time. The browser is expected to support 20 cookies for each Web server, 300 cookies total, and may limit cookie size to 4 KB each.

The browser returns cookies to the servlet by adding fields to HTTP request headers. Cookies can be retrieved from a request by using the Request.getCookies() method. Several cookies might have the same name but different path attributes.

Cookies affect the caching of the Web pages that use them. HTTP 1.0 does not cache pages that use cookies created with this class. This class does not support the cache control defined with HTTP 1.1.

This class supports both the Version 0 (by Netscape) and Version 1 (by RFC 2109) cookie specifications. By default, cookies are created using Version 0 to ensure the best interoperability.

Version:

CVS $Id: Cookie.html 1304258 2012-03-23 10:09:27Z ilgrosso $

Author:

Carsten Ziegeler

Method Summary

String	getComment() Returns the comment describing the purpose of this cookie, or null if the cookie has no comment.
String	getDomain() Returns the domain name set for this cookie.
int	getMaxAge() Returns the maximum age of the cookie, specified in seconds, By default, -1 indicating the cookie will persist until browser shutdown.
String	getName() Returns the name of the cookie.
String	getPath() Returns the path on the server to which the browser returns this cookie.
boolean	getSecure() Returns true if the browser is sending cookies only over a secure protocol, or false if the browser can send cookies using any protocol.
String	getValue() Returns the value of the cookie.
int	getVersion() Returns the version of the protocol this cookie complies with.
void	setComment(String purpose) Specifies a comment that describes a cookie's purpose.
void	setDomain(String pattern) Specifies the domain within which this cookie should be presented.
void	setMaxAge(int expiry) Sets the maximum age of the cookie in seconds.
void	setPath(String uri) Specifies a path for the cookie to which the client should return the cookie.
void	setSecure(boolean flag) Indicates to the browser whether the cookie should only be sent using a secure protocol, such as HTTPS or SSL.
void	setValue(String newValue) Assigns a new value to a cookie after the cookie is created.
void	setVersion(int v) Sets the version of the cookie protocol this cookie complies with.

Method Detail

setComment

void setComment(String purpose)

Specifies a comment that describes a cookie's purpose. The comment is useful if the browser presents the cookie to the user. Comments are not supported by Netscape Version 0 cookies.

Parameters:

purpose - a String specifying the comment to display to the user

See Also:

getComment()

getComment

String getComment()

Returns the comment describing the purpose of this cookie, or null if the cookie has no comment.

Returns:

a String containing the comment, or null if none

See Also:

setComment(String)

setDomain

void setDomain(String pattern)

Specifies the domain within which this cookie should be presented.

The form of the domain name is specified by RFC 2109. A domain name begins with a dot (.foo.com) and means that the cookie is visible to servers in a specified Domain Name System (DNS) zone (for example, www.foo.com, but not a.b.foo.com). By default, cookies are only returned to the server that sent them.

Parameters:

pattern - a String containing the domain name within which this cookie is visible; form is according to RFC 2109

See Also:

getDomain()

getDomain

String getDomain()

Returns the domain name set for this cookie. The form of the domain name is set by RFC 2109.

Returns:

a String containing the domain name

See Also:

setDomain(String)

setMaxAge

void setMaxAge(int expiry)

Sets the maximum age of the cookie in seconds.

A positive value indicates that the cookie will expire after that many seconds have passed. Note that the value is the maximum age when the cookie will expire, not the cookie's current age.

A negative value means that the cookie is not stored persistently and will be deleted when the Web browser exits. A zero value causes the cookie to be deleted.

Parameters:

expiry - an integer specifying the maximum age of the cookie in seconds; if negative, means the cookie is not stored; if zero, deletes the cookie

See Also:

getMaxAge()

getMaxAge

int getMaxAge()

Returns the maximum age of the cookie, specified in seconds, By default, -1 indicating the cookie will persist until browser shutdown.

Returns:

an integer specifying the maximum age of the cookie in seconds; if negative, means the cookie persists until browser shutdown

See Also:

setMaxAge(int)

setPath

void setPath(String uri)

Specifies a path for the cookie to which the client should return the cookie.

The cookie is visible to all the pages in the directory you specify, and all the pages in that directory's subdirectories. A cookie's path must include the servlet that set the cookie, for example, /catalog, which makes the cookie visible to all directories on the server under /catalog.

Consult RFC 2109 (available on the Internet) for more information on setting path names for cookies.

Parameters:

uri - a String specifying a path

See Also:

getPath()

getPath

String getPath()

Returns the path on the server to which the browser returns this cookie. The cookie is visible to all subpaths on the server.

Returns:

a String specifying a path that contains a servlet name, for example, /catalog

See Also:

setPath(String)

setSecure

void setSecure(boolean flag)

Indicates to the browser whether the cookie should only be sent using a secure protocol, such as HTTPS or SSL.

The default value is false.

Parameters:

flag - if true, sends the cookie from the browser to the server using only when using a secure protocol; if false, sent on any protocol

See Also:

getSecure()

getSecure

boolean getSecure()

Returns true if the browser is sending cookies only over a secure protocol, or false if the browser can send cookies using any protocol.

Returns:

true if the browser can use any standard protocol; otherwise, false

See Also:

setSecure(boolean)

getName

String getName()

Returns the name of the cookie. The name cannot be changed after creation.

Returns:

a String specifying the cookie's name

setValue

void setValue(String newValue)

Assigns a new value to a cookie after the cookie is created. If you use a binary value, you may want to use BASE64 encoding.

With Version 0 cookies, values should not contain white space, brackets, parentheses, equals signs, commas, double quotes, slashes, question marks, at signs, colons, and semicolons. Empty values may not behave the same way on all browsers.

Parameters:

newValue - a String specifying the new value

See Also:

getValue(), Cookie

getValue

String getValue()

Returns the value of the cookie.

Returns:

a String containing the cookie's present value

See Also:

setValue(String), Cookie

getVersion

int getVersion()

Returns the version of the protocol this cookie complies with. Version 1 complies with RFC 2109, and version 0 complies with the original cookie specification drafted by Netscape. Cookies provided by a browser use and identify the browser's cookie version.

Returns:

0 if the cookie complies with the original Netscape specification; 1 if the cookie complies with RFC 2109

See Also:

setVersion(int)

setVersion

void setVersion(int v)

Sets the version of the cookie protocol this cookie complies with. Version 0 complies with the original Netscape cookie specification. Version 1 complies with RFC 2109.

Since RFC 2109 is still somewhat new, consider version 1 as experimental; do not use it yet on production sites.

Parameters:

v - 0 if the cookie should comply with the original Netscape specification; 1 if the cookie should comply with RFC 2109

See Also:

getVersion()